Director Wim Wenders's Angels

Article excerpt

`FARAWAY, So Close," the movie by German filmmaker Wim Wenders,
has the most unexpected cameo performance of the year. None other
than former Soviet ruler Mikhail Gorbachev appears in a brief but
moving scene, playing a world leader who sits at his desk and
dreams of global peace.

Landing such a well-known figure for a cinematic self-portrait
was quite a coup for Mr. Wenders, but few things about "Faraway,
So Close" are ordinary. A sequel to his 1987 hit "Wings of
Desire," it takes another look at the experiences of angels who
watch over human beings - and who love the people under their care
so much that one angel can't resist falling to earth and becoming
part of their world.

"Faraway, So Close" was not received with much enthusiasm at
last spring's Cannes International Film Festival, even though some
admirers managed to wangle a special Grand Jury Prize for it on
closing night. Since then, Wenders has trimmed about 40 minutes
from the picture, so audiences may find it more engaging when it
opens on American screens this month. Also in its favor is a
star-filled cast including Nastassja Kinski, Otto Sander, Willem
Dafoe, Peter Falk, and legendary rocker Lou Reed.

Talking about "Faraway, So Close" over brunch shortly after
its first Cannes showing, Wenders spoke with touching sincerity on
the thoughts and feelings that went into its making. The theme, he
explained, is what the angel Cassiel says at the beginning, and
repeats with the angel Raphaela at the end. "They say that angels
love us, and are here for us, and are messengers," Wenders notes.
"And the message they bring is love."

When he first tackled the challenge of evoking the world of
angels on film, Wenders tried all sorts of technical tricks that
might convey a sense of the supernatural. But eventually he
realized that technology wasn't the answer to his problem. "The
camera had to translate another way of looking at ourselves," he
says. "It wasn't technique but texture that was needed."

Wenders has sought new kinds of cinematic texture in the past,
testing fresh approaches to narrative time in "Kings of the
Road," to form and color in "The American Friend," and to
storytelling structure in "Paris, Texas," among other
experiments. He sees his new picture as an attempt to bring
cherished values back to the forefront of moviemaking.

Today's world, he says, is swamped in degrading images. As one
result of this, filmgoers have forgotten that "looking is a
cycle." When we look at a person or event, "we are supposed to
take something in and give something back," the filmmaker insists.
"But we have fallen out of the cycle - we only take things in now,
and we don't bother to give anything back. …